Drake and The Weeknd were recently spotted at the same party, which was enough for fans to pray for another collaboration between the two. For many, The Weeknd was introduced to the world through Drake, but the two artists helped one another in equal measure from the very beginning, and there's no better way to illustrate that than looking back at their past work together.
The Weeknd was a major presence on Drake's sophomore album Take Care, earning him song credits on 5 of the albums 17 songs. In a 2016 interview with Beats 1, Abel shed light on their mutually beneficial relationship at the time. “I gave up almost half of my album,” he said. “It’s hard. I will always be thankful—if it wasn’t for the light he shined on me, who knows where I’d be. And everything happens for a reason. You never know what I would say if this success wasn’t in front of me now.” Those tracks remain the majority of the collaborations between the two artists, but it's not quite the whole story.
Click through the galleries to revisit all of the music that came from Drake and The Weeknd's unfortunately brief collaborative period. Now that both artists are each independently bigger than they've ever been, is it time for them to join forces once again?
Shot For Me
Shot For Me (Take Care, 2011)
"Shot For Me" is the first song, sequentially, on Drake's 2011 sophomore album Take Care to feature a contribution from The Weeknd. Abel Tesfaye is listed as a songwriter on the track, which sounds a tinge brighter than the material that made the cut of his House Of Balloons project, from which the singer gave up "half of" for Drake's project. Drake takes a higher-register approach that feels reminiscent of Abel's falsetto, but later introduces some sing-raps that are distinctly Drizzian, making this a collab that effectively represents both writers involved.
Crew Love
Crew Love (Take Care, 2011)
Crew Love is the first proper collaborative performance between Drake and The Weeknd, and remains their quintessential duet. Last year, the original demo from The Weeknd leaked online, revealing an unreleased verse from Abel. It contains production both from Drake's in-house producer 40, and Weeknd's frequent collaborator Illangelo.
The two artists performed the song together on the European leg of Drake's 2013 Would You Like A Tour?, where The Weeknd performed as the opener.
Good Ones Go
Cameras / Good Ones Go (Take Care, 2011)
Any R&B Drake stan will tell you that "Cameras / Good Ones Go" is one of his greatest accomplishments. The song starts off dark and paranoid, fliltering Jon B's 2001 track "Callin' On You" into distant textures. However, in its second half, The Weeknd's touch becomes more clear, as reverberated drums and floating synth tones make way for delicately placed melodies, complimented by Abel's own vocals.
Practice
Practice (Take Care, 2011)
Yet another Take Care deep cut with an Abel Tesfaye writing credit, "Practice" is an ode to Cash Money that reads Drake through-and-through. Whether this was an idea originally intended for House Of Balloons or a melody-assist, the back-half of Take Care is the only place the "Back That Azz Up"-interpolating track makes sense.
The Ride
The Ride (Take Care, 2011)
Drake has become known for closing his albums with hookless venting, and "The Ride" is probably the greatest example of such. The Weeknd's contribution comes as a sample-like background vocal, his repeating vocal serving as chorus in a conventional choruses absence. Meanwhile Drake stays in full-on rap mode throughout, reminiscing on the dream-chasing that has led him here, and maybe, for once feeling satisfied. Once again, Drake and The Weeknd's producers are collaborating as well, with 40 and Doc McKinney credited as songwriters.
Trust Issues
Trust Issues (Remix) (Free Release, 2011)
Drake's "Trust Issues" was a free release shared in advance of Take Care, borrowing the hook from Drake's immortal chorus on DJ Khaled's "I'm On One," and building it into something more meandering. Shortly thereafter, The Weeknd released his own version of the song, more or less a cover of Drake's but more dynamic and outward reaching that the insular world Drake created on his own track. The remix reverses the writing partnership we'd hear on some of the Take Care tracks, with The Weeknd working off of a Drake idea rather than the other way around. Eventually, the two would be combined in perhaps their most essential form, as a mash-up with both vocal-takes intact. Posted to the OVO Sound SoundCloud account, consider it an official release.
The Zone
The Zone (Thursday, 2011)
While Drake had co-signed The Weeknd in a major way, he had yet to make a proper appearance on one of the up-and-coming singers songs. On Abel's second project of 2011, Thursday, Drake gave him a verse on "The Zone." Initially uncredited, the entrance of Drake's voice at the tail end of the track was a surprise to fans.
Live For
Live For (Kiss Land, 2013)
The last time we heard Drake and The Weeknd on the same track was Kiss Land single "Live For." A big moment, considering their was rumored to be tension between the two at the time after Abel decided to sign a deal with republic rather than with OVO. The Weeknd would deny those assumptions in later interviews, but "Live For" was a more effective way of telling the world things were still cool between OVO and XO. Unfortunately, we haven't heard much since, but recent rumors suggest that we may get the long-awaited follow up to "Live For" some time in the near future.